US ‘TV Everywhere’ less than half deployed

According to The Diffusion Group (TDG), more than four years after the first public announcement of the cable industry’s ‘TV Everywhere’ (TVE) initiative, deployment to America’s multichannel TV subscribers remains at less than 50 per cent.

TDG’s latest report details the availability of authenticated TVE content for the 14 leading US TV networks to subscribers of the 15 largest multichannel TV operators. On average, each of these networks is available via TVE to only 45 per cent of those operator’s pay-TV subscribers.

According to Bill Niemeyer, TDG Senior Analyst and author of the new report, “TV Everywhere is arguably the best response that the multichannel TV operators and networks have to the competitive threat posed by online video services, including those from Netflix and Aereo. Despite this fact, TVE rollout has been disappointingly slow.”

“Ironically,” notes Niemeyer, “the delay is not due to technology but rather business friction between TV networks and operators – the two parties who stand to benefit the most from a timely TVE rollout.”

Niemeyer does acknowledge that some networks have seized the TVE opportunity, pointing out that HBO offers its programming online to authenticated subscribers of all top 15 MVPDs. On the other hand, three of the top 10 cable networks have yet to offer any type of TVE access to their subscribers. “The pay-TV industry needs to move now to conclude agreements and become fully engaged in the game with its online programming services.”